As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users are information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes, thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems, e.g., computer, personal computer workstation, portable computer, computer server, print server, network router, network hub, network switch, storage area network disk array, RAID disk system and telecommunications switch.
Information handling systems are becoming more and more important in both business and personal life. The engine of the information handling system is the microprocessor. The microprocessor has continued to evolve in sophistication by achieving faster operation and greater computational capacity. However with this evolution, the amount of rapid changes in current drawn by the microprocessor (current steps) has been increasing while operating voltage tolerance ranges (bands) have been decreasing. The increased current steps caused by operation of the microprocessor and its need for tighter (smaller) voltage tolerance range(s) places greater demands on the DC-to-DC converter(s) used to generate the required operating voltage(s) of the microprocessor. The problem in keeping the DC-to-DC converter output voltage in tolerance range for the microprocessor may be addressed by increasing the output filter capacitance and/or increasing the bandwidth of the DC-to-DC converter regulation feedback loop.
Present technology DC-to-DC converters are limited in the gain/bandwidth of the feedback loop because of the voltage ripple present on the error amplifier output. The error amplifier output voltage ripple puts a limit on loop gain versus higher frequency response and thus limits bandwidth of the loop filter and thereby step response time. Therefore, a DC-to-DC converter having limited loop bandwidth may require additional output capacitors that will increase the cost thereof.